Comfort of a Friend
by rightxhere
Summary: Stepping inside, the door closed behind her and she wondered what had possessed her to go to his quarters in the first place. Contains Unending spoilers, be warned!


**Title: **Comfort of a Friend  
**Author:** Demelza  
**Characters:** Vala, Teal'c  
**Disclaimer:** Stargate SG1 and its characters belong to MGM, SciFi Network and all their other owners. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. Without Prejudice.  
**Rating:** U12 (suitable for all ages)  
**Genre:** Friendship, angst  
**Spoilers: **Unending  
**Summary:** Stepping inside, the door closed behind her and she wondered what had possessed her to go to his quarters in the first place. (Contains Unending spoilers, be warned!)  
**Thanks:** To Jill for reading this over for me! Although it was in a different tense at the time, heh!  
**Note:** Just a little something that wouldn't leave me in peace. Comments, good or bad, are more than welcome.

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Each of her steps fall slower and heavier than the last, while her chest ached deeper with every sob that escaped her burning lungs. There was only so far she could go within the confines of the Odyssey, yet she felt like she'd been wandering the corridors for hours.

Eyes swollen and tired, another tear trailed down her damp cheek as she wound yet another corner. One more step after another, each one reverberated in her ears.

Stopping in front of the door to the cooled storage room, she repeatedly pushed the button to open it. Of all the quiet places on the ship, it was the only one she knew he wouldn't think of finding her, the one place where she could be at her weakest and not hear more of his hurtful words.

Stepping inside, the door closed behind her and she wondered what had possessed her to go to his quarters in the first place.

She knew the answers. They hadn't stopped swirling in her mind, and she chuffed at herself for having been so stupid. After all these months of him putting her down and pushing her away, how could she have thought he would feel so much as _one ounce_ of the way she had grown to feel for him?

Her eyes closed and she could once again feel his finger under her chin from those few weeks ago, when he had tenderly lifted her gaze to his. In that moment she had saw a glimmer of something unspoken in his eyes. It seemed now, though, that she had misread it.

Swallowing, she pushed the memory from mind and sat on the floor near the shelf directly ahead of her. More tears threatened to choke her, and she wrapped her arms around her knees as she clutched them to her chest.

She had always known she got on Daniel's nerves, at least certainly more than she did any of the others, and while she had told herself a thousand times over that all his remarks and bitter comments didn't hurt, she was sure the ones he had used tonight hurt worse than the deepest flesh wounds ever could.

It wasn't just his words, though.

It was his tone.

It was also the look he held in his eyes as he listed all the reasons why he found her so repulsive. How she had proved herself as a member of the team, but that was all.

Her eyes drifted shut again with a painful laugh. She tried to shake the memories from mind, and was startled when the door before her slid open.

Heart racing fast, she expected to see the face of the one who had rightfully hurt her, instead she was met by the warm gaze of a friend.

"Muscles," she smiled, tearfully.

"Vala Mal Doran," he answered a smile on his face, but it quickly faded when he saw the tears that streaked her cheeks. "What is the matter?"

He was moving into the room now, and she held her breath for those split few seconds between the door sliding shut behind him, and when he stepped forward and squatted before her.

She looked down at the grating on the floor, smiled and rolled her shoulder with a small shrug. "Oh, you know. That whole, _'trapped in a tin can'_, thing."

She smiled again, but he could see beyond her words. He could see right through them, and into her heart.

The truth was, he was the only person she felt even understood half of what she felt most of the time.

She didn't need any more words.

She didn't need to tell him how, once again, Daniel had rejected her.

She didn't even need to tell him how badly she was hurting inside.

He extended his hand, which she gratefully took, and pulled her to her feet before him.

Mere seconds passed, and it was in the absence of words that more tears left her eyes and he drew her into a comforting hug. She fell into the warmth of his arms, let her eyes drift shut as she breathed in the soap he bathed with earlier this evening.

His arms tightened around her that little bit more. "Thank you, Teal'c..." she said, her words falling on a faint murmur.

He didn't answer, only pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

fin


End file.
